Christmas with Mr Darcy (an Austen Addicts story) Page 9

  ‘We come back later,’ Rose said, pushing her sister back up the stairs with a bony finger.

  There was even more excited chatter and noise than usual in the dining room of Purley Hall when one o’clock arrived because Christmas lunch was about to be served. Higgins, who was being aided by two helpers, made sure that everybody had everything they could wish for and there was wine, goose, pigs in blankets, roast vegetables and greens, thick gravy and home-made cranberry sauce and plates were piled high. The candles were all lit and the fire roared in the hearth.

  Rose and Roberta tried not to think about the first edition hidden under one of the beds in their room, Benedict tried to forget that his sister had accused him of robbing her and Dan tried not to cast quizzical looks around the table, trying to wheedle out a possible traitor amongst the Janeites.

  After lunch, the main lights of the dining room were dimmed and Higgins entered with a great silver tray on which sat the biggest Christmas pudding the guests had ever seen, its blue flames licking happily around it.

  Then came the crackers and the room filled with the sound of little bangs and laughter as terrible jokes were read out and jolly paper hats were placed on heads but the real surprise was the trinkets inside the crackers. Gasps were heard around the room as the guests discovered silver charm bracelets, fountain pens and diamante pendants.

  ‘Where on earth did you buy these crackers, Dame Pamela?’ Mia asked from the other side of the table. ‘They’re the best I’ve ever seen!’ she said, putting on the silver charm bracelet.

  Dame Pamela beamed with pride. ‘Well, I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted in the shops so I had Higgins dismantle them all and put in individual gifts I chose myself.’

  There was a round of applause and an embarrassed Higgins took a little bow.

  It was then that Warwick stood up and cleared his throat.

  ‘On behalf of everybody here, I would like to thank our extraordinary hostess, Dame Pamela, for this wonderful meal and yet another fantastic conference. You know exactly how to make people feel welcome and you know that everybody likes to be spoilt once in a while. To Dame Pamela!’

  Everybody raised their glasses.

  ‘To Dame Pamela!’ they chorused.

  Dame Pamela’s hands fluttered in front of her face as if she was batting away their attention but everybody could see that she was revelling in it.

  No activities had been planned for Christmas Day afternoon although there was the promise of dancing in the evening to look forward to. Meanwhile, some of the guests chose to watch the Queen’s speech on the television in the Yellow Drawing Room whilst others were sprawled in various armchairs, sofas and beds, feeling wonderfully replete after having eaten a lot of very good food.

  Kay and Adam were sitting in the library and Kay was watching Higgins as he moved around the room, making sure everyone had enough tea and coffee.

  ‘You know who would make a really cute couple?’ Kay whispered to Adam.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Higgins and Doris Norris,’ Kay declared with a huge smile.

  ‘Are you joking?’ Adam asked.

  ‘No. Why would I be joking about such a serious business as love?’

  ‘Kay – I thought you promised you weren’t going to match-make anymore. I distinctly remember you saying-’

  ‘Yes but they’d be so perfect together, don’t you think?’

  ‘No, I don’t!’ Adam said, his eyes wide with horror. ‘That’s the worst match you’ve come up with yet.’

  ‘Why?’ Kay said, looking wounded.

  ‘Well,’ Adam said, stroking his chin, ‘Doris just isn’t Higgins’s type.’

  ‘No? Well, who is?’

  ‘I don’t think any woman is his type.’

  Kay looked confused for a moment and then clarity descended. ‘Oh!’ she said. ‘How do you know?’

  ‘Just an inkling,’ Adam said. ‘I walked by his room last night and his door was ajar and I heard him singing.’

  ‘What was he singing?’

  ‘The soundtrack to Yentl,’ Adam said.

  ‘But that doesn’t mean anything,’ Kay said with an exasperated sigh.

  ‘It does when you’re singing it to a poster of Mandy Patinkin.’

  Mia was still admiring her silver charm bracelet. It was such a thoughtful gift. The charms included miniature books, a dear little bonnet, a bouquet of flowers and a heart. She was going to find herself a quiet corner somewhere in Purley Hall so she could sit and admire it and also ring Gabe and speak to her darling little boy, William, and see how their Christmas Day was going. She was missing them so much but she knew that they’d be having a fabulous time with neighbours, Shelley and Pie and Bingley the dog.

  Opening a door into one of the rooms at the back of Purley Hall, Mia froze. There was a man bending double and it didn’t take long for Mia to recognise Jackson Moore and he was going through a lady’s handbag.

  ‘Excuse me!’ Mia cried, consternation in her voice.

  He span around, obviously surprised.

  ‘What are you doing?’ she asked, a frown on her face.

  ‘I was just-’ he stopped as a voice from a winged chair by the window interrupted him.

  ‘He was just getting my pills,’ Doris Norris said.

  Mia narrowed her eyes as Jackson Moore rooted in Doris’s handbag once again, bringing out a small packet of tablets which he took over to her.

  ‘How kind you are,’ she told him. ‘You two have met, haven’t you?’

  Mia’s face softened a little as she joined them by the window and Jackson gave her a tight smile. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Are you all right, Doris? Can I get you anything?’

  ‘No, thank you, my dear. This kind man brought me a glass of water and I have my tablets now.’

  Mia sat on a chair next to her. ‘It’s been an exciting day, hasn’t it?’

  ‘Oh, yes!’ Doris said. ‘I was going to have a rest in my room but I didn’t feel like the climb upstairs.’

  ‘I can help you,’ Jackson Moore said.

  Doris shook her head. ‘That’s so kind of you but I think I’ll just close my eyes here for a little while.’

  Mia watched as Doris shut her eyes. Jackson Moore walked over to the door and picked up Doris’s handbag and brought it over to her.

  ‘Can I get you anything, Mia?’ he asked, stroking his dense moustache.

  She shook her head, disliking the sound of her name on his tongue. ‘No, thank you,’ she said.

  ‘You know, you look just like my daughter,’ he told her.

  Mia winced. ‘Really?’ she said.

  He nodded thoughtfully. ‘She has exactly the same sulky look as you do.’

  Mia’s mouth dropped open at his rudeness and she watched as he left the room. ‘Well, I-’ she paused as Doris opened an eye.

  ‘Isn’t he a character?’ she giggled.

  ‘Yes!’ Mia said. ‘The sort of character that any author would make sure gets his comeuppance!’

  Chapter 15

  Mia didn’t usually take an afternoon nap but there was something about sitting in that quiet room with Doris that made her nod off and, when she awoke, Doris was gone.

  She got up and stretched and that’s when she became aware of the raised voices - voices that were filled with anxiety.

  ‘She just fell!’ somebody shouted.

  ‘She’s so pale. Someone call an ambulance!’

  ‘She’s had a heart attack!’

  Mia opened the door into the hallway and saw the crowd at the bottom of the stairs. She pushed her way through and let out a cry as she saw the body on the floor. It was Doris Norris and her eyes were closed and her face deadly white.

  Panic ensued as people talked over each other.

  ‘We need to call an ambulance.’

  ‘It’ll never get through.’

  ‘Is there a first aider?’

  ‘It’s too late for that – just look at her!’

  ‘Don’t say that.
Call an ambulance!’

  Dan was already on the phone.

  ‘Sarah!’ Mia was shouting. ‘Sarah does first aid.’

  Sarah was already on the landing having heard the commotion from upstairs and was by Doris’s side in an instant. It often surprised people that Sarah did first aid. Her OCD usually meant that she kept people she didn’t know at a safe distance from her but she’d once signed up for a class called ‘Cure Your OCD’ and one of the tasks had been to learn first aid. Well, Sarah’s OCD hadn’t been cured but she’d never forgotten the first aid.

  ‘She’s not breathing,’ Sarah said, looking up from the floor.

  ‘Oh, my god!’ Mia shrieked.

  ‘Doris!’ Dame Pamela cried.

  There followed an anxious few moments as Sarah administered first aid, giving chest compressions followed by rescue breaths.

  ‘They’re sending the air ambulance,’ Dan said a moment later. ‘We’re to clear a space – out in the back garden will be best – and a route into the house for the stretcher.’

  Warwick stepped forward. ‘That’s something I can help with.’

  ‘Count me in,’ Adam said, stepping forward.

  ‘Me too,’ Benedict said.

  ‘And me!’ Katherine said. She’d always kept her own cottage pathway clear of snow even in the deepest of Oxfordshire winters.

  ‘Good,’ Dan said. ‘Higgins – we’re going to need shovels and spades.’

  ‘Right away, sir,’ Higgins said.

  ‘How’s she doing?’ Dan asked.

  Sarah looked up from the carpet. ‘She’s breathing.’

  ‘Oh, thank god!’ Dame Pamela said.

  Dan, Benedict, Adam, Katherine and Warwick donned coats, hats, scarves and gloves and left the house.

  ‘Doris?’ Sarah said. ‘Can you hear me? An ambulance is on its way. Hang on in there. We’re all here with you.’

  ‘Fetch a blanket,’ Gemma said. ‘You’ve got to keep her warm.’

  Mia stepped forward and squeezed Sarah’s shoulder. ‘You were amazing,’ she said.

  ‘I only wish I could do more,’ Sarah said.

  ‘I was just talking to her,’ Mia said, tears in her eyes. ‘She looked tired but I had no idea that this was going to happen.’

  ‘Of course you didn’t. Nobody can predict something like this,’ Sarah said.

  ‘I fell asleep,’ Mia said. ‘I was asleep when she was suffering like this.’

  ‘Don’t blame yourself,’ Sarah said.

  ‘I’m going outside to help,’ Mia said.

  Sarah nodded. ‘Well, wrap up warm first, okay?’

  Mia ran upstairs for her coat, boots and hat before joining the snow-clearing party in the garden. Higgins had found a motley collection of shovels and spades in varying degrees of decrepitude but they did the job and a large square was soon clear of snow and work began on a pathway back to the house and the patio doors that opened out from the Yellow Drawing Room.

  They only just made it in time when the helicopter arrived. Everybody inside rushed towards the back of the house to look out of the window as the huge yellow helicopter landed and two men leapt out with a stretcher.

  Sarah and Dame Pamela were with Doris when they arrived. They briefed them on what they thought had happened, watching as the men carefully attended to their patient, placing her on the stretcher. Sarah straightened the ambulance blanket and handed one of the men Doris’s handbag and a little bag of clothes and toiletries which Rose had gathered together from Doris’s bedroom.

  ‘She’s got medication in there,’ Sarah told them and they nodded. ‘Shall I come too?’

  ‘We won’t be able to promise you a ride back,’ one of the men said.

  ‘It’s all right, Sarah,’ Dame Pamela said, laying a hand on her arm. ‘We’ll keep close contact with the hospital from here.’

  They followed the men through the hall and into the Yellow Drawing Room, stopping at the patio doors as they took Doris towards the waiting helicopter.

  The guests who’d been shovelling the snow were still outside and watched as the helicopter slowly took off, its bright bulk soon becoming nothing more than a little dot in the snow-heavy sky.

  Chapter 16

  ‘Poor Doris,’ Robyn said to Dan as he came back into the warmth and took his coat off.

  ‘She didn’t look good,’ Dan said, ‘but she’s in the best hands now. Where’s Cassie?’

  ‘Higgins took her to the kitchen. She got scared with all the noise.’

  ‘And how’s Pammy coping?’

  Robyn didn’t have time to answer Dan’s question because there was a sudden cry.

  ‘My handbag!’ Mrs Soames cried. ‘Somebody’s taken my handbag. I left it right here on this chair.’

  ‘Are you sure it was there?’ Rose asked.

  ‘Of course I’m sure!’ Mrs Soames said, her bosom rising in annoyance at being doubted. ‘I put it down to help with Doris.’

  Rose stepped forward. She couldn’t actually remember what Mrs Soames did to help Doris but she believed her when she said her handbag was gone because it was a permanent fixture on her arm and now it was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘Somebody must have taken advantage of all the commotion and taken it,’ Mrs Soames said, her mouth a thin straight line of anger.

  ‘But who would do such a thing?’ Dame Pamela cried.

  ‘The same person who’s taken the first edition?’ Mrs Soames said and Rose could feel herself blushing.

  ‘But we don’t know it’s been taken by anyone,’ Dame Pamela said. ‘It’s just missing.’

  ‘That’s right,’ Rose said, catching Roberta’s eye. ‘I’m sure the first edition will turn up.’

  ‘Perhaps Doris Norris faked a heart attack so she could get the first edition out of here without being suspected,’ Mrs Soames said.

  ‘Oh, that’s ridiculous!’ Dame Pamela said but a fleeting look of doubt passed over her face as if she was weighing up the possibility.

  ‘Everybody just calm down,’ Dan said, stepping forward. ‘We’ve all had a shock. Mrs Soames, we’ll all have a good look around for your handbag.’

  ‘I think we should call the police!’ Mrs Soames said, ‘and have everybody searched.’

  ‘I’m beginning to think that’s the right thing to do too,’ Robyn said.

  Dan turned to look at her. ‘Really?’

  ‘Well, you can’t find your gold watch,’ Robyn said. ‘Maybe there is a thief amongst us.’

  Warwick stepped forward and cleared his throat too. ‘I’ve lost something as well.’

  ‘Really?’ Dame Pamela said.

  ‘What have you lost?’ Katherine asked.

  ‘Well, it’s-’ he paused, ‘it’s a surprise.’

  ‘But I thought you said you’d left it at home – whatever it is,’ Katherine said, her voice laced with suspicion.

  Warwick shook his head. ‘The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced I packed it,’ he said.

  ‘Well, one thing’s for sure – nobody’s going anywhere – look,’ Dan said, and everybody looked out of the hallway window as the snow began to fall thick and fast. ‘We’re well and truly snowed in.’

  ‘Well, somebody’s trying to get somewhere,’ Roberta said as she walked over to the window.

  ‘Oh, my god! It’s that awful Jackson Moore!’ Mia said as she joined Roberta.

  ‘What’s he doing going out in this weather?’ Dame Pamela asked. ‘I don’t want any more casualties today.’

  ‘He’s running away!’ Mrs Soames shouted. ‘He’s got my handbag – look!’

  ‘Stop him!’ Dame Pamela shouted.

  Instantly, Dan sprang into action, opening the great front door and dashing out into the winter wonderland, his long legs sinking deep into the snow as he ran after the escapee.

  ‘STOP!’ he yelled but the man did nothing more than look behind him for a moment before stumbling on down the driveway. It was definitely Jackson Moore and Dan was furious that this ma
n thought he had a right to come to Purley and take whatever he wanted – from his sister and from their guests.

  ‘I said STOP!’ Dan shouted again.

  Luckily, the snow was slowing the thief down as was the enormous rucksack he had strapped to his back and it wasn’t long before Dan caught up with him, grabbing the bag from behind and wrestling him to the cold ground.

  ‘Get off me!’ Jackson Moore cried, trying to get away but Dan was much too strong for him.

  ‘You’re not going anywhere,’ Dan told him.

  Warwick and Adam were soon by Dan’s side and the three of them escorted Jackson Moore back to Purley Hall.

  ‘Well, I never!’ Dame Pamela said as the four men entered the hallway, shaking snow from their hair and their boots.

  ‘Take the bag, Adam,’ Dan said and the man was stripped of his rucksack.

  ‘My handbag!’ Mrs Soames said, stepping forward and wrenching the bag from the man’s grasp before hitting him over the head with it.

  ‘That will do, Mrs Soames,’ Dan said. ‘We’ll let the police deal with him.’

  ‘What are we going to do with him?’ Dame Pamela asked.

  ‘Sit him quietly in the West Drawing Room,’ Dan said. ‘We’ll keep an eye on him. He won’t go anywhere.’

  Jackson Moore tried to shrug himself free of Dan but his grip was like iron.

  ‘I expect the police will want to know exactly what he took but I’m guessing everyone wants their possessions back?’ Dan said, nodding to Adam.

  ‘I’ve got a camera,’ Mia said, taking the world’s tiniest camera out of her jacket pocket. ‘I can film everything as it comes out of the bag.’

  ‘Great idea!’ Dan said.

  ‘Oh, my goodness!’ Adam said. ‘It’s my wallet! I didn’t even know it had gone.’ He reached inside the rucksack and brought out item after item.

  ‘Who’s is this ring?’ Dame Pamela asked, holding up a lovely old garnet ring.

  ‘That’s Doris Norris’s,’ Mia said, recognising it instantly.

  ‘Why you low down, sneaking-’ Mrs Soames was at Jackson Moore again with her handbag.